Optas LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Optas LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,280 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.0% of Optas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headinvest LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Apple by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after purchasing an additional 24,634 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.